Appeal in Optus TV Now case wraps up

The Federal Court hopes to make a quick decision about an appeal by the nation's two biggest football codes and Telstra against Optus showing matches on its mobile phones.

Lawyers for NRL and AFL and Telstra began their appeal on Wednesday against a ruling in February that found Optus's TV Now service did not breach copyright laws because of it was akin to a person using a video or digital recorder.

The appeal case, which wrapped up on Thursday, has focused on who was the maker of the recording - Optus or the TV Now user.

Telstra, the NRL and AFL are seeking to overturn Justice Steven Rares' ruling that Optus had not breached copyright laws.

At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcast rights that the NRL and AFL receive from selling exclusive online and mobile rights to their games.

Telstra recently signed a $153 million, five-year deal for the online and mobile rights for AFL matches, and the NRL is negotiating its next round of broadcast rights.

The fate of the TV Now service is now in the hands of Federal Court justices Desmond Finn, Arthur Emmett and Annabelle Bennett.

"We would obviously hope to come to a decision in this matter reasonably expeditiously," Justice Finn said after the parties concluded their arguments in the two-day hearing.

In his original ruling, Justice Rares said Optus customers recording free-to-air programs as part of the TV Now service were similar to a person using a video or digital recorder and that the service was exempted from the Copyright Act.

The AFL and NRL, Australia's two largest sporting codes, say the decision has devalued the mobile and online rights to their matches.

It has also led to calls for the federal government to change copyright and broadcasting laws.

Justice Finn raised the issue of a potential government response during Thursday's session.

"Parliament has expressed some choices. In other words, it has indicated it is prepared to make difficult choices in this arena," he said.

Analogies have also featured heavily in oral argument, with barristers from both sides trying to draw parallels with video and digital recorders, photocopy shops, home delivery providers and email transmissions.

The AFL, NFL, and Telstra want Justice Rares' orders set aside and a permanent injunction put in place preventing Optus from broadcasting matches on its TV Now service.